Families voice disgust over arrested Alpine School District teacher

LINDON, Utah — Parents are voicing their disgust over a junior high teacher in Lindon. Utah County detectives arrested a teacher at Oak Canyon Jr. High School for possession of child pornography. Despite the shock of the alleged crime, some families weren’t surprised.

The Utah County Sheriff’s Office said their Special Victims Unit detectives received a tip about 50-year-old Travis Adamson from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children back in 2023, but due to a lack of staffing and a backlog of cases, they didn’t arrest Adamson until Monday.

“We get a lot of those tips on a regular basis and trying to work through those sometimes takes a little time to get through all of them,” said Sgt. Ray Ormond, Utah Co. Sheriff’s Office, Public Information Officer.

Searching Adamson’s home, the Sheriff’s Office said they found sexual pictures of children seven to 14 years old.

“During that search warrant, they located thousands of images,” Sgt. Ormond said.

Detectives said Adamson admitted to viewing the images over the last five to six years. Families with children who’ve had his class at Oak Canyon during that time told KSL they feel repulsed.

“It made me feel, you know, literally sick to my stomach, to find out news about this,”  Jennifer Bryant, parent of a student who took Adamson’s class said.

“It’s very upsetting that children are exposed to people that are who are viewing those kinds of things and are around my beautiful granddaughters,” Valerie Johnson, grandparent of students who took Adamson’s class said.

Some parents said their students got the news in disbelief.

“She texted me like this is my teacher, I can’t believe it, like she’s just shocked,” Alicia Andersen, parent of a student who took Adamson’s class said.

Others said Adamson made their daughter and granddaughters feel uncomfortable.

“They had talked to other students, mostly females, that kind of had the same feeling about him,”  Johnson said.

Deputies right now don’t know if Adamson committed any acts against his students and are asking parents to talk to their children.

“If they think there may be anything inappropriate to please come forward and talk to us,” Sgt. Ormond said.

Even if he didn’t, several parents already feel violated.

“It’s shocking and scary for sure to know that kids are around somebody like that,” Bryant said.

The Alpine School District said Adamson is on administrative leave. He’s facing charges of sexual exploitation of a minor. The Sheriff’s Office said they’re reviewing the possibility of more charges as they work through their investigation.

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